A plan in being mooted to transform the way Africa produces and sells bananas. Stakeholders met in Mombasa last week at a conference focusing on banana and plantain research in the continent.

The 400 delegates who attended the “Banana 2008 Conference” are expected to develop a 10- year plan to address issues such as farmer cooperatives, processing and value-addition, and seed systems. The conference also explored ways of developing disease-resistant and high-yielding varieties without compromising on the local standards in taste.

One of the world’s most popular fruits, bananas are poorly marketed as a commercial crop in Africa where they are a staple food sold in the local market by small-scale farmers.

Peter Hartmann, Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) said the conference, which was being held in the context of a global food crisis, constitutes an opportunity for Africa to contribute to the global food system through alternatives to cereal, including banana, legumes, yams an cassava. Said Hartmann “…I do not see a poverty-free world. However, we can reduce levels of extreme poverty. Bananas will not solve it but can contribute substantially."

Zambia, Cameroon and Ghana were cited as some of the countries with diverse food cropping systems, making them unlikely to suffer famine. Banana is an important crop in these areas.

While bananas earn around five billion dollars annually, only 13 percent of the global production of around 104 million tons is traded, indicating a potential for Africa to increase commercial trade in the crop.

East Africa is one of the largest banana producing and consuming regions in the world, with Uganda being the world's second leading producer after India. The challenge now is to determine how the continent can claim a larger portion of the global market for bananas, and particularly to benefit small-scale growers.

Some of the research findings presented during thematic sessions indicated a lack of capital, inadequate transportation, taxes and inconsistent prices. These problems significantly limit the ability of small-scale farmers to benefit from growing cross-border banana trade between countries such as Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Scientists and farmers participating in the conference are also discussing new production methods and organic farming techniques, which will help small-scale growers overcome current and emerging threats to production, including plant diseases, poor soil and climate change.

"The notion that bananas are a significant yet untapped source of wealth for Africans has really struck a responsive chord," said Thomas Dubois of IITA and chairperson of the conference's organising committee.

In Africa, products made from bananas and banana plants include beer, wine, juice, sauce, mats, handbags, envelopes, postcards, flour, soup and breakfast cereals.